Tool for preparing ground to receive explosive charges.



S. RAND.

v TOOL FOR PREPARING GROUND TO RECEIVE EXPLOSIVE CHARGES. 7

W NESSES.--

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15, 1912.

' 'INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

Patented May 28, 1912.

, UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

sAMUEL RAND, or BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

root FOR PREPARING GROUND TO RECEIVE ExPLosIvE CHARGES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 28,1912.

Application filed January 15, 1912. Serial No. 671,387.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL RAND, a citi zen of the United States,residing at Bir-1 mingham, in the county of Jefferson and State ofAlabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tools forPreparing Ground to Receive Explosive Charges, of which the following isa speci-j fication.

My invention relates to a novel and ef fective tool forfOI'ITIIIIgSUbSOIl,ODGIllIlgS;111'

drive holes in the field about threefeet in depth and approximatelytwenty feet apart. The practical application of this system of farminghas necessitated the invention of the simplest and cheapest means forforming the holes to receive the explosive. Heretofore the mosteffective means has been a round pointed rod of uniform diameter whichhas been driven into the ground the desired depth and then drawn outwith considerable exertion and delay according to the character of thesoil in which the implement is driven. The difficulty in extracting therod has been the cause of much delay and really represents the chiefitem of cost in preparing the field for the explosive.

I have devised the tool which is shown in side elevation in theaccompanying drawing and which I have found can be withdrawn from theearth, into which it has been driven, with the minimum expenditure ofenergy and consequently with the least possible loss of time.

I preferably form the tool from a round bar of tool steel one inch inthickness throughout the shank portion A and which is enlarged at itslower end so that it attains an extreme width of approximately an inchand a half and is then tapered to a point. This I term the enlargedpointed head B of the tool. A steel plate C is slipped over the shank Aand is provided with a case hardened central circular opening slightlylarger than the shank A. I have found in practice that best results areobtained from providing the plate with an opening having a diameterabout one-sixteenth of an inch larger than the diameter of the shank A.

and also to prevent the plate 0 becoming disengaged from the shank. Thedimensions which I have given are those which I have proven assatisfactory in practice, but they maybe obviously changed and variedwithout departing from my invention.

In practice, the tool is driven down into the ground at thedesiredpoint, the head 13 forming an enlarged opening in the earth sothat there is no practical engagement between the walls of the hole andthe shank portion A. As the tool is driven down into the ground theplateC will normally slide down it and rest upon the ground and theshank A will pass freely through the opening in the plate as the tool isdriven downwardly. When the tool has been driven to the desired depth,the upper end of the shank A can be grasped and rocked in the hole toloosen the head B, after which thetool can be readily withdrawn from theground, as the only point in frictional engagement therewith is the headB which has an upper tapering or conical wall E which will permit it toreadily work itself past any loosev dirt in the hole. If the whole toolwere of the same diameter throughout,

except at its point, it would be in frictional engagement throughout itsentire length in the ground and the difficulty in removingit would bevery much greater than where all the tool except the head Bstands clear.of

the ground. If for any reason the tool cannot be drawn out readily byhand, all that is necessary to quickly remove it, is to insert a lever Funder an edge of the plate C and place a fulcrum G under the lever. Byrockingthe lever F about its fulcrum, the plate G will be cocked andcaused to positively engage the shank A and thus give the lever apurchase on the round smooth shank A of the tool by means of which thelatter may be forced out of the ground. As soon as the lever is droppeddownwardly from its dotted line position, the plate C will slide downthe shank automatically until it again rests on the lever in positionfor another lifting operation. The plate C cannot be separated from thetool and is always ready and in position when it becomes necessary touse the lever and at the same time it does not interfere with the use ofthe tool in soft ground where it can be readily withdrawn by hand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is 2-- 1. A tool for the purposes described,formed of a steel bar of uniform cross-sectional contour except at itsends which are both enlarged, one of said enlarged ends being tapered toa sharp point, and a plate having an opening slightly larger in diameterthan said bar and which is slipped onto the bar before both of itsendsare enlarged and is freely adjustable lengthwise on the bar, saidenlarged ends being adapted to prevent said plate becoming disengagedfrom said bar.

2. A tool for the purposes described, formed of a round steel bar ofuniform diameter except at its ends which are both enlarged, one of saidenlarged ends being tapered to a sharp point, and a plate having a casehardened circular opening slightly larger in diameter than said bar andwhich is slipped onto the bar before both of its ends are enlarged andis freely adjustable lengthwise on the bar, said enlarged ends beingadapted to prevent said plate becoming disengaged from said bar.

In testimony whereof I hereto afiix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

SAMUEL RAND.

Witnesses:

G. L. MoCULLoUo1-r, LUTIE CHISHOLM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

